Patient strums guitar as doctors perform operation

A musician played the guitar on the operation table as he underwent a surgery at a private hospital here for a rare movement disorder affecting guitarists.

The successful brain circuit surgery, believed to be the first such operation in the country, was performed on July 11 by a team of doctors from Bhagawan Mahaveer Jain Hospital on 37-year-old Abishek Prasad, who has a passion for the guitar, to rid him of the neurological disorder 'guitarist dystonia' that had crippled his fingers.

During the entire surgery, the patient was fullyawake and was playing the guitar as the problem only occurredwhen he tried playing guitar. So the feedback from thepatient was important to get the exact location of the target, doctors told reporters here today.
 

Expressing joy over the successful procedure, Prasad, a native of Bihar, said even the doctor did not expect 100 per cent result.

"It was a great feeling for both me andthe doctor. It was 100 per cent result on the operation tableitself. I'm very excited, finally now I can live my dream, can play my guitar again after one month of recovery...

"Now my fingers are completely listening to me,earlier my fingers were erect and changing from one chord toother was difficult," he added.

Prasad had developed the problemwith his left hand fingers resulting in difficulty to move hislittle finger, and the trouble grew gradually into disabilitybecause of which he had to abandon playing guitar.

After consulting various specialists, Prasadwas referred to the doctors at the BMJ hospital here.

Calling it a rare disorder, neurologistDr Sanjiv C C who specialises in movement disorders, said itoccurs to one per cent among professional musicians.

"If the medical management that included Botulinumtoxin and drugs fails, then surgery is the next option," hesaid.

The doctors decided to perform astereotactic MRI guided right ventralis oralis thalamotomy, a very delicate brain circuitsurgery.

Explaining the surgery procedures, Dr SharanSrinivasan, Stereotactic & Functional Neurosurgeon & HOD ofNeurosciences at the Jain Hospital, said a 14-mm hole was madein the skull and a specialised electrode was passed into thebrain under local anesthesia.

Noting that the brain was stimulated by doctors to confirm the right location, he said, "after confirming the target location, a radio frequency lesion was made using a specialised RF ablation machine. 5-7 lesions were made, each at 60-70 degree centigrade and for 30-40 seconds."

The hospital charges came to about Rs 2 lakh, doctors said.